God Holds Everything Together

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do not appear." (Hebrews 11:3)

Did you ever wonder what holds this world together? Why don't we fall apart as we walk around? Why don't the planets spin out of their orbits? What keeps the sun (a huge flaming ball of gases) all together instead of splitting up into thousands of flaming little sun-balls? What holds our insides in and keeps the outsides out? If you think of water in a pitcher, the pitcher holds the water in and keeps everything else out, right? But what is it that holds the pitcher together? As we walk around outside, we do not fall apart. Why? Because our skin holds us together! But what really is it that keeps your skin holding together?

Some say that Newton's Law of Gravity holds us together, or a bunch of other recognized scientific laws. Isaac Newton did not create gravity, though; he just discovered it. Who invented gravity and designed it to do what it does? Some people say they just don't know what keeps the universe running.

We are able to learn the true answer to the question of how the world keeps going, because the Bible tells us. It is God Who holds your skin together and keeps the planets in their proper orbits. God created the whole universe by simply speaking, as He tells us in Genesis 1. In the thousands of years since He first made Creation, God has been holding it together. He created our bone structures and skin. He created gravity. He created created solids and gases and powders and globby things and sticky things.

God is a very powerful God, and He is also good. By His providence and power, He keeps everything and everybody going. The next time you step out into your yard, be glad that your lungs and liver don't fall into the grass! Be thankful that your lips and teeth are there to keep your tongue from sliding out. And take a moment to remember that God created this world in a very specific way so that things would work just right. Everywhere we look, we can see reminders that God is a great God and a good God Who not only created the world, but keeps on taking care of it.

As the sovereign Creator and Sustainer, God gets the credit for keeping everything together.

My Response: » How can remembering that God is in charge help me respond rightly when things in my life seem out of control? » Can I point to things in my life that help me see God taking care of even today?

Ann Hasseltine Judson

“Direct me in Thy service, and I ask no more. I would not choose my position of work, or place of labor. Only let me know Thy will, and I will readily comply.”

Born on December 22, 1789, Ann Hasseltine was just an ordinary girl who became a remarkable wife, mother, teacher, translator, and the first woman American missionary to travel outside of the country.

Ann was saved at age 16. During her twenties, she met a man studying missions at a seminary near her home. His name was Adoniram Judson. Two years later, they were married, and the day after their wedding, they left for the mission field of India.

Aside from her husband, Ann was alone in a sense on the mission field. She lived in India and then Burma with no family, no friends, and no children. A baby boy was eventually born to her, but just eight months later, little Roger William Judson died of terrible cholera. Ann did not complain.

Adorinam Judson was once accused of being a spy and was put in “death prison.” Despite her own illness at the time, Ann continued to take care of him, taking him food every day. Her husband likely would have died without her faithfulness in caring for him. Imagine the souls that never would have been saved! 63 churches and 7,000 converts might have reason to be grateful to God for giving Judson such a self-sacrificing, servant-hearted wife.

Judson recovered for a time and got to go home, but Ann never got truly well again. She died on the mission field. When Adoniram Judson had originally written to Ann’s father to request her hand in marriage, he asked Mr. Hasseltine whether he could be willing to part with his daughter forever. In those days, travel was by sea-voyage, so it was awfully limited, long-lasting, and expensive. Missionaries did not come home every four years or so for a break. And life overseas was so physically dangerous that usually, a commitment to missions was a lifetime commitment – many missionaries never returned home alive from the field. By God’s grace, Mr. Hasseltine was able to say “yes,” and Ann also willingly gave the rest of her life to Jesus Christ, her husband, and to spreading the Gospel for God’s glory.

What are you willing to sacrifice for Christ? What items or people do you hold so dear that you would hesitate before trusting and obeying God’s leading for your life? If Jesus Christ truly is our greatest possession, sharing Him with the lost should be our greatest joy.

1 Timothy 6:7 – For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Description of God

Lord God of IsraelPsalm 41:13 "13Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen."

Question & Answer

After considering God's complete control over all things and man's responsibility to choose rightly, what should we do?

A. In humility and faith, we should accept both truths, even though we cannot fully understand this mystery. Psalm 139:6 – Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

BIG Christian Word

Millenium - (mi-len'e-um)

Millenium is a word used to express one thousand (1,000) years. Many Christians use the word to refer to the time when they believe Christ and His believers will reign over the earth. During this time Satan will be bound and thrown into a pit until the thousand years are ended. (Revelation 20:2-3) "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season."